Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie by Heather Ray (beach read book .TXT) 📕

. Barely able to move, doubtlessly beyond any sort of healing…but alive.

Alive enough to wrench at least a partial victory from the hands of defeat.

With the grim resolve only a cold-hearted, unrelenting despot could ever truly exhibit, the Emperor of Evil lifted his torn, ragged body off the dry, cold surface of the moon.

He lifted himself into the air, hovering carefully and peering without the help of his shattered ruby visor. He saw his would-be assassin slowly recovering her senses after her miraculous attack. He saw the door of fire evaporate. He saw the Red Ranger lurch into the chamber, shocked at the sudden entry.

He landed at the edge of the remaining floor, only a meter or two from where Kimberly remained, motionless and utterly ignorant of his presence.

He saw the Red Ranger, his bitter rival, look up. He saw the boy tense.

He smirked.

With speed that rivaled the Turbo Rangers at their best, he wrenched Kimberly off the ground by her hair.

She gasped wordlessly, eyes wide with shock sinking into terror.

He laid his free hand against her back, directly behind the center of her chest.

"Checkmate."

The light that erupted was so intense, it leaked through the walls. The blast echoed so loudly and forcibly, it felt as if the shockwave would travel around the entire moon. The Turbo Rangers collapsed, each one clinging to whatever they could, each one staring at the white wall, jaws hanging in a sickening mixture confusion and dread.

Then, the shaking subsided, and the wall collapsed.

It took a few moments for the Rangers to recover their equilibrium. Tommy, who lay closest to the door, immediately staggered into the inner sanctum with feverish perseverance.

"Kim!" he shouted hoarsely. She sat on her knees, head hanging flaccidly yet still clearly conscious. Whatever had happened, it had eradicated over half of the chamber, leaving a gaping hole through which one could see the contrasting serenity of the undisturbed lunar plains and valleys of the moon.

She sat near the jagged edge, taking stomach-deep breaths. Blood stained all her visible flesh, including her stomach where the silk of her gown had been scorched. Her hair hung from her head, the ends still smoking with the heat. Her face was flushed bright pink, nearly the shade of Katherine's armor.

But…she was alive

!

Tommy once again tried to rise to his feet, but the utter relief flowing through his entire body worked against his efforts.

Only then, he noticed the looming shadow hanging just within the yawning opening like an angel of death.

The air in his lungs froze painfully. "No! KIM!!

"

The other Rangers were still behind him, regrouping and assessing any injuries. At some point, his Turbo Blade had fallen from its sheath at his belt, and he didn't have the time or focus to summon the Lightning Sword. He forced himself upon shaking legs, watching as the Emperor of Evil snatched her free-flowing hair, witnessing the fear widen her eyes…

He began moving, half-crawling as his body refused to move fast

enough, desperate to close the gap between him and his love…

He heard the dark Lord's mocking voice. "Checkmate."

He reached for her arms, desperate to wrench Zedd's vile fingers from her, when a vague pain suddenly stabbed his chest.

Blinking in confusion, he stared at the crimson armor. A small, sooty black spot stared back at him, faint smoke swirling to the ceiling.

He heard the shrieks of disbelief from his friends. He heard the mocking, decadent, rolling laughter of the most evil

being to ever see daylight. He heard the faint, pained murmur that escaped Kimberly's cracked lips.

"Tommy... "

He saw the blood pouring from between her breasts; a rich, thick, almost cherry color. It saturated the remains of her gown, contrasting sharply to her rapidly paling skin. He saw her arms go limp, overly bright eyes shuttering closed, lips slightly parted.

Somehow, his overwhelmed, shell-shocked mind was convinced he actually heard the Breath of Life escape through those full, bleeding lips.

His senses slowed to a painful crawl. He saw Zedd retract his fingers, letting her tumble like a lifeless doll. He had the presence of mind to reach out, cradling her head and shoulders in his trembling arms. With her face pressed against his stomach, he could see the gout of blood flowing down her back, the point of origin directly opposite the hole in her chest.

The Emperor sent a tight beam of energy right through her.

Tommy had no breath in his lungs. He had no strength to push air through his vocal chords. He couldn't speak… he couldn't inhale. He couldn't think.

He could only hold her to him, squeezing her chilling flesh to his armor, silently begging... no... demanding that she wouldn't leave him.

No!!!

The tears came unbidden, soaking his cheeks. Oh God...please, no...

Final victory is mine...

It was no accident that the dark Lord used a tight, pulverizing beam of energy, aimed directly at the girl's heart. It was no accident that she collapsed into the desperate, reaching arms of the Red Ranger, who was only milliseconds too late to prevent the blast from penetrating.

He could have summoned the power to disintegrate the upstart bitch. Only that would have expended far too much of his already dwindling power reserves. Also, there was a poetic perfection in letting the body remain...letting the Red Ranger cling to the lifeless vessel that used to hold the indomitable spirit of his love.

Now, the Emperor of Evil was brewing. He reached deep into the well of arcane power within, measuring and searching, forcing his battered, vastly weakened body to muster the power he needed to finish the job.

Let the boy mourn,

he decided, smirking fiercely with his bleeding, naked lips. Let him weep, and let the guilt fester. The longer he remains in his mindless daze, the better chance I have to destroy them all!

His fists shook, energy pulsing around them in angry, sparking clouds. The air cracked around him, ionized by the power that had slowly begun to build.

Then, the Red Ranger looked up. Oh, what the dark Lord would've given to see the boy's haunted, anguished expression!

The leader of the Power Rangers did not speak. He kept his visor inclined to the Emperor, gently lying Kimberly on the cold, cracked floor. It almost looked like he was afraid of rousing her from a deep, well-deserved sleep.

The other Rangers seemed to sense his mute command. They congregated around their teammate, forming a tight semicircle of wordless commiseration and support for their friend and leader.

All eyes fell upon Lord Zedd, who gritted his teeth in effort. Just a little longer, children, and you can join her!

Slowly, the Red Ranger planted his feet beneath him, and rose to his full, imposing height. "Turbo RAM

Cannon,"

he murmured.

Four heads nodded once.

"Turbo Windfire!"

the Pink Ranger growled. The trusty double-barrel archer's bow materialized in her waiting palm.

"Turbo Star Chargers!"

the Yellow Ranger commanded. The discarded weapons, strewn against the wall of the dilapidated chamber, glowed with life all their own. They flew to their mistress like boomerangs, allowing Tanya to catch them easily.

"Turbo Hand Blasters!"

the Blue Ranger spat. The large laser guns formed in his hands, silver barrels gleaming in the building light.

"Turbo Thunder Cannon!"

the Green Ranger roared. The foreboding arm length weapon took shape between his hands, ready to fire.

"Turbo Lightning Sword,"

the Red Ranger breathed. His words were hardly audible, but the silver sword obeyed nonetheless, appearing within Tommy's tightly clenched, shaking fist.

"You're through, Zedd," Tommy hissed. His voice was never so menacing, even while under the spell of evil. "You've played your last trick...and I won't let you ever hurt another person again!"

He raised his sword. "Bring them together!!"

The weapons glowed their unique signatures, reshaping and fitting together with the perfect synchrony the Power afforded them. Soon, the magnificent Turbo Cannon was manifest, lying in the anxious arms of the teenaged heroes whose lives depended on it.

Lord Zedd snarled fiercely, pushing his energies toward his hated enemies. "We'll see who else

dies today, Boy!"

The Turbo Cannon fired, its blinding light streaming unwavering toward the most insidious, depraved devil the Power Rangers of Earth had ever encountered. The focused totality of the Turbo Power pierced the very atoms that formed the air with a hissing noise.

Lord Zedd screamed loudly as electric discharge flowed from his fingertips, colliding with the column of righteous power dead on.

The contest was, for once, decidedly short. The Turbo Rangers burned with a need for retribution...for righting centuries of wrongdoing as best they could. The Emperor was a weakened shell of the warrior he truly was, thrashed by the weakness of his ancient flesh, and the inexplicable strength of one human girl.

The power of the Light was overwhelming. The column from the Turbo Cannon crept closer, searing the flesh off his bones with its blistering heat. Zedd howled in horrible agony, the heat of a star roasting and obliterating everything that he was.

When the burning radiation finally faded, Lord Zedd...twenty-eighth of the House of Zhept, Emperor of Evil, dark Lord of the Milky Way, Sovereign of Phlegethon and a thousand systems beside... was dead.

The entire galaxy felt the shudder of vast, almost incalculable occult power dispersing, as one of the most formidable sorcerers in a hundred centuries was no more.